


The Run Away's Oath

by LamiaCor



Category: K-pop, SHINee
Genre: Action, Adventure, Key and Jjong as gangsters, Mafia AU, Minho as a cop, Onew as a nursery teacher, Taemin as a runaway, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-08 15:29:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14697048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LamiaCor/pseuds/LamiaCor
Summary: Waking up with blood in his hands isn't a usual thing for Lee Taemin. At least it wasn't. Not until he had to run away from his own father and the infamous Black Ring mafia. Fleeing from his bloody past, Lee Taemin’s life twisted into normalcy as he ends up living with a nursery teacher and becomes unlikely friends with a hotheaded policeman.Uninhibited, untamable and certainly crafty, can Taemin outwit his father and finally have a normal life?





	1. Prologue: Gun slinger

** PROLOGUE:  **

He pulled the trigger, listening to the gun clicking loudly beneath his steady but sticky hands. Along with the silenced whistle of the gun came a pained grunt and Kyungmin’s crash into the muddy puddle.

Lee Taemin stood motionless. For once, his steady hands shook at the invisible weight guilt pressed against him and tickled the hot sting that threatened to line his eyes. The dried blood coating his hands shone underneath his gaze and he almost choked on silent gasps.

‘ _I killed my partner_.’

Lee Taemin stared at his childhood friend’s lifeless body, stopping himself when he flinched and almost stepped into the thick redness that pooled around the young boy’s small body. A voice inside his head laughed, mocking him.

There was no way he could save his fallen comrade. Or someone who used to be his comrade. The man was already dead.

Taemin might’ve been one of the Black Ring gang’s best assassins but even a child could understand that no one could survive a bullet wound to the head. Other than that, Black Ring, like other gangs always, always killed the traitors. It didn’t matter if Kyungmin was his childhood friend or was the man who saved him from getting shot during the gang war two years ago. He was now a mere traitor to the group threatening to destroy the drug empire their boss had meticulously built for over a decade. And no one could stand against the boss.


	2. Anxiety

Taemin stared at the wet concrete as his hands fiddled with the silencer.

Watching as two men in black suits cleaned the scene and threw the body into a garbage bag, he bit his lower lip. The booming horn of a ship leaving the docks almost made him jump. Carefully, he ran a hand through his thick, blonde hair, trying to comfort himself. Though there wasn’t anyone in sight and there surely no one coming near the corner they’ve hidden in, Taemin couldn’t help but feel eyes digging into the back of his neck.

Maybe it was just his instincts. A few years ago, it was drilled into him that he should always mind his surroundings. For a Black Ringer could never be caught red handed. Their shadows could be seen but their faces would be better off burned and mangled than stuck in the memory of an outsider.

“Is this a good idea?” he asked, turning around to look at his older gang brothers. “This place seems much too open, don’t you think?”

It was already deep in the night and there wasn’t even a working lamppost near them so it was a little hard to see the two other men.

“What do you mean?” Key asked, playing with his knife and effortlessly flipping it like a baton, “The boss told you to do it here, right? If the boss said it, then we have nothing to worry about.”

Kim Kibum was wearing an all-black garb – black pants and a black tank top that warred with his buzz cut blonde. The black was unusual since he was known to be the most obnoxious dresser when it came to fashion. Also known by the entire gang as ‘Key’, was someone Taemin could easily believe. Unlike the other members, he wasn’t one to toy with people using knives or guns. His mere words were enough to scar people for life. With such a weapon, Taemin was well aware of when Key spouted lies or when he actually told the truth.

Next to him, Kim Jonghyun – the gang’s resident cold blooded knifer nodded without even bothering to pull his head up. “Don’t worry.” He said as he contemplated his nails as if they needed the most attention tonight. “He didn’t even scream or anything.”

He glanced up at Taemin now, dark brown eyes drilling into the boy’s own eyes. “Plus, you did your job well.” He said then tapped at his forehead with a small, comforting smile curling on his lips, “The middle. As boss taught you.”

Taemin looked away from them but hummed in understanding, pocketing his gun and dreading the weight of the steel in his pants. It’s been a long time since he killed someone. He tried scanning his memory for his last kill. Was it five years ago?

‘ _I think he was a cop_.’

The man almost ruined Black Ring’s relations with some Japanese yakuza by spreading rumors of the boss’s disloyalty to the Japanese. He was only 19 at the time but his father already bathed him with stories and lessons on killing. At a tender age, he had already learned about the human body and where he should hit to ensure a total kill. Given the opportunity, the boss used it as a test of the boy’s skill and loyalty.

“Make sure to hit him in the middle of the head.” The boss had said, his face hidden by dark silhouettes and shadows.

Like tonight, it was a clean job where he only needed one bullet. But unlike then, the weight in his chest was heavier and threatened to make him vomit at the sight of blood.

As if sensing the discomfort rolling over the young one’s head like a dark cloud, Jonghyun looked up and raised a thick brow.

“What’s wrong?” he asked before sauntering over to the boy. Taemin watched him from the corner of his eye, trying not to tense.

Like Key, his suit was all black. They must’ve talked about it, thinking it was both funny and suitable for tonight’s silencing operation. And like Key, he was also capable of scarring people for life. Physically, that is.

Though the three of them grew up together, in the same rough handling and the same loveless conversations with each of their parents, their friendship was still no guarantee that they would be so kind to Taemin. After all, they both directly served the boss. Key as the left – hand man who handled conversations and deals, and Jonghyun as the right – hand man who thrived under the job of beating up and killing people the boss deemed as pests. Working together frequently, it made sense that they trusted Taemin lesser then each other.

Noticing that Jonghyun was staring too much, Taemin sighed and ran a hand over his face as if trying to wipe Jonghyun’s gaze off his skin.

“Nothing. I’m just tired.”

It was a normal lie and he doubted they’d believe it but he was sure the bags under his eyes were a testimony to his words. He couldn’t afford looking as if he were guilty for the death of a traitor. He might get beat up for caring too much for someone who threatened the gang.

Jonghyun patted the blonde on the shoulder as if trying to slap down the guilt Taemin was feeling.

“Stop thinking about it.” he sang, hooking a muscular arm over the slimmer boy and shaking him as he carefully whipped his head to the side, sweeping away his platinum fringe to better see Taemin, “He was a traitor anyway. You heard him yourself. He was going to turn everyone in to the cops and everyone meant you too.”

Key hummed in agreement before jumping off the crate and pocketing his knife. “Forget about him. Moping over it won’t do a thing.” He sang as well, scratching the back of his head, “They’re done cleaning. Time to go home!” Key announced as he walked ahead of the other two, going straight for the limousine they left parked next to the pyramid of shipping crates piled next to a rusted barge floating in the water.

Key slid inside before Jonghyun followed, pulling Taemin in as well. Even in the comforting warmth, Taemin couldn’t help but hold his breath for something. He didn’t know what was making him so uneasy but he was positive he didn’t leave any evidence if their whereabouts outside.

Taemin eyed everything from the broken lampposts to the empty, moss-covered crates, wondering why the boss chose to have Kyungmin killed in such an open space.

Was it another test for Taemin? To see if he could still kill a deer even with a cougar eyeing him? Nevertheless, he still couldn’t shake his partner’s wide-eyed stare and the gape of his mouth that seemed to call out for help.

It was the truth Taemin had to live with. A few weeks ago, Kyungmin was assigned to help out in Japan, another voice to convince the Kyoto yakuza that cooperation with the Black Ring was a huge step that could bring the yakuza a step closer to being the most powerful gang in Japan. That same week, Taemin found out that he tried to run away. A few days later, he was in the gang’s basement, quietly watching his partner get beat half to death just for trying to run away. With Jonghyun and Key in the room, they got an easy confession out of him.

Hearing it, Taemin urged himself to keep calm and not throw a punch his partner’s way. It was a stupid thing for anyone in the gang to think. Running away? Black Ring was notorious for their loyal members.

Everyone was both a loyal dog growling at any hand that threatened the group, and simultaneously wild dogs that could bring down the group. Though they were a silent gang and reserved their violence for the truly major brawls, Black Ring was one of the oldest gangs that barely anyone dared to anger.

“Taemin.”

He turned to the voice, seeing the two men stare at him with puzzled eyes. The car was moving now, the orange lights outside the window appearing and disappearing as they drove through a tunnel.

“What?” he asked, not bothering to hide his confusion. Judging by the tunnel, they were already halfway to headquarters. Taemin did drift off a lot. He didn’t think it would happen this time though.

“I said boss just called.” Key loudly said, looking slightly annoyed. “He wants to talk to you when we get back.”


End file.
